---
name: "Yasiin Bey"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/yasiin-bey"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "11 December 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T03:39:34.991038+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Yasiin Bey

Actor. Born 11 December 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 11 December 1973, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- **Also known as:** Black Star, Flaco Bey, Dante Bezé, Bizet Dante, Smith Dante, Dante Smith

## Biography

Yasiin Bey, also known by his former stage name Mos Def and other aliases including Black Star, is an American actor and musician. Born Dante Terrell Smith on 11 December 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, he began acting as a child in television films and sitcoms before pursuing music and returning to acting as an adult.

His film credits include *Monster's Ball* (2001), *Brown Sugar* (2002), *The Italian Job* (2003), *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* (2005), *16 Blocks* (2006), *Be Kind Rewind* (2008) and *Begin Again* (2014). He appeared as himself in the documentary *Amy* (2015). Bey made his Broadway debut in *Topdog/Underdog* (2002) and hosted *Def Poetry Jam* from 2002 to 2007. He received an NAACP Image Award nomination for *Brown Sugar*.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Amy* (2015), Fi1m 81, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/amy.md)

## Also known for

- *House* (2004), Lee
- *The Italian Job* (2003), Left Ear
- *Dexter* (2006), Brother Sam — [page](https://film.one/tv/dexter.md)
- *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* (2005), Ford Prefect
- *Begin Again* (2014), Saul
- *16 Blocks* (2006), Eddie Bunker
- *Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby* (2006), Mos Def
- *Be Kind Rewind* (2008), Mike

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/yasiin-bey